Now that the Great Recession has been over for a really long time *coughs up lung*, it's a great time to take a broad survey of the vibrant US economy and see how well all of it is doing, what with the recovery and all. How are massive corporations doing? How are common folks doing? Let's review.

CORPORATIONS

"An analysis by The Wall Street Journal of corporate financial reports finds that cumulative sales, profits and employment last year among members of the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index exceeded the totals of 2007, before the recession and financial crisis." Great!

EVERYONE ELSE

"Federal money for the primary training program for dislocated workers is 18 percent lower in today's dollars than it was in 2006, even though there are six million more people looking for work now."

"Texas lawmakers cut public education financing by roughly $5.4 billion to balance the state's two-year budget during the last legislative session, with the cuts taking effect this school year and next."

"According to several professors and nonprofit poverty assistance programs, there is another problem settling on college campuses - hunger."

"[Many] California communities share a common predicament: They are low-income, primarily Latino and in unincorporated county areas that lack clean water, sewers and other basic services...'There are many communities where people are literally living in Third World conditions through no fault of their own.'"

"Estimates from 2006 through 2010 suggest that 7,879,000 children lived in areas of concentrated poverty. The percent of children living in these areas increased from 9 to 11 percent over the past decade."

"Despite the worst economy in decades, the cash welfare rolls have barely budged...recent studies have found that as many as one in every four low-income single mothers is jobless and without cash aid - roughly four million women and children."